Etiquette for children matters in our society today. We are now in a technology aged where just about every one home as access to smartphones, tablets & the internet. Children are bombarded with technology at an early stage of development. Research has shown Young Children Are Spending Much More Time In Front Of Small Screens than before.
“The nationally representative parent survey found that 98 percent of homes with children now have a mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone.”
Here are some tips on How to Limit Your Child’s Screen Time & Introduce Good Manners.
Model Healthy Electronic Use & Educate Yourself on Electronics
Today’s kids are tech-savvy. Most of them know more about electronics than adults do. that’s why it’s essential to stay up-to-date on the latest cell phone app or the newest social media craze.
Create “Technology-Free Zones”
Establish zones in your house where you just don’t allow electronics, like smartphones and laptops. For example, the dining room can be a great technology-free zone that is reserved for meals and family conversations.
Set Aside Times to Unplug
Set aside times for the entire family to become unplugged from technological devices. For example, the dinner hour or an hour before bedtime can be great times for the entire family to have quality time together without TV, video games and computers.
Obtain Your Child’s Passwords
Depending on your child’s age and your values, it may make sense to obtain your child’s passwords to any social media accounts or online accounts. It can also be important to establish rules about social media and what services you’ll allow your child to participate in.
Encourage Other Activities
Kids easily grow dependent on technology for entertainment. Encourage your children to become involved in activities that don’t involve screens.
Get your child to play outside, read a book or play a game.
Good Manners is Important?
Helping young children learn appropriate, polite and considerate behavior enables them to form good manners and become more socially attentive as they get older. It’s easier to nurture first – class child behavior if you work as a family to set the rules for good manners in many different situations.
How Can Parents Raise Children who are Polite?
Model Good Behavior
At home, you must first, and most importantly, model good behavior for your children. This may sound like common sense, but you must never overlook how much children emulate the behavior they see from their parents. Start with the essentials.
Pleases and Thank you’s
Say “please” and “thank you” throughout the day. Say it to the children. Say it to your spouse or to the sales clerk in the store. Make sure the children hear you use these words several times all throughout the day.
Be Patient
It may take a while; these changes don’t happen overnight, particularly if they are new to a family’s routine. But gentle (and repeated) correcting and asking children to restate their requests will reap worthwhile results.
You may need to put forth months of sustained effort to make a change, but once you hear your family speaking kindly to one another out of habit, it can really change the family dynamics for the better. It’s nice for spouses too. Husbands and wives feel good when they’re thanked for what they do to support the family, such as cooking a good meal or mowing the lawn.
Teach Gratitude
There’s more to teaching manners than just words. Gratitude and politeness are valued traits in our culture.
When children express their appreciation for things that are done for them or given to them, they:
- feel better about themselves
- begin to see themselves as recipients rather than “takers”
- develop a sense of empathy as they recognize that other people are going out of their way for them.
Children as young as 18 months old can learn the fundamentals about manners by being taught to say “please” and “thank you” when appropriate, even if they do not understand the reasons for being polite.
“Good manners are just a way of showing other people that we have respect for them.” – Bill Kelly
Etiquette Etiquette
